Sharif to return to Pakistan on Sunday

Nearly two months after he was unceremoniously deported on his arrival in Islamabad, exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif is set to return to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia on Sunday following Riyadh's intervention.

Sharif, who has been living in Jeddah since he was deported to Saudi Arabia by President Pervez Musharraf soon after he landed in Islamabad on September 10 after a seven-year exile, would fly to Lahore in a special aircraft provided by the Saudi government, his nephew Hamza Sharif announced on Saturday.

Unlike last time when Saudi Arabia had opposed his move to travel to Pakistan, Sharif's return this time has been cleared by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz whom he met late Saturday night in Riyadh. Musharraf had made a brief visit to Saudi Arabia on November 20 where he met the King and apparently discussed the issue of Sharif's return.

Though the military ruler's spokesman said there was no contact between Musharraf and Sharif, it is believed that Sharif met Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, who accompanied Musharraf to Riyadh.

"The flight (carrying Sharif) will reach (Lahore) at 4 pm Pakistan time (4.30 pm IST). We have galvanised our party and are holding several meetings. The party is gearing up to accord him a rousing welcome," Hamza told Dawn News channel.

Sharif will be accompanied by his brother Shahbaz Sharif, who has also been living in exile in London.

Asked what the Pakistan Muslim League would do if authorities tried to deport Sharif again, Hamza said: "We are hopeful that no hurdles will be created but if there are any, then we would face them."

"He is determined to come to his country... It is his fundamental right under the constitution to participate in the politics of Pakistan and duly fight the upcoming elections," he said.

PML-N leaders obtained nomination papers on behalf of Sharif, his brother Shahbaz Sharif and his wife Kulsoom in Lahore on Thursday.

PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said the party's central working committee would discuss the political situation and the option of boycotting the January 8 polls.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the chief of the ruling PML-Q, has said that Sharif is due to return under a new deal he had worked out with the Saudi leadership.

Sharif, who was deposed by President Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, had originally gone into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000 in exchange for the dropping of a prison term awarded to him.

When the two-time prime minister flew into Islamabad from London in September after the Supreme Court cleared his homecoming, he was arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia.

Political circles in Pakistan have been abuzz with reports that Musharraf is reaching out to Sharif following the breakdown of his talks with former premier Benazir Bhutto on a possible power-sharing arrangement.

The Saudi leadership, which had agreed to host Sharif, is believed to have conveyed to Musharraf that it could not hold back the PML-N chief after the Pakistan government allowed former premier Benazir Bhutto to return home from eight years in self-exile.